The Colt Model 1911 was designed by John Browning, designer of various modern firearms. In 1906 the US Military, under the direction of General William Crozier of the Ordinance Department, began evaluating several pistol designs along with the suitability of a new cartridge that was designated the .45 Automatic Colt Pistol (or .45 ACP for short). As these military tests continued over the next several years, the John Browning designed pistol began to emerge as the clear favorite.
In March 1911, the Browning-designed .45 automatic pistol, manufactured by Colt was selected as the official sidearm of the armed forces of the United States of America and was designated the Model 1911. Because of its speed, reliability and distinguished history, the 1911 firearm is still popular today with gun enthusiasts and collectors. Various models of the 1911 have been produced by virtually all firearm manufacturers.
To disassemble the 1911 to clean or repair the firearm, the procedure for various manufacturers is basically the same. The procedure involves the rotation and removal of the barrel bushing and the recoil spring plug/guide rod plug. Rotation and dis assembly of these parts can be accomplished by hand without the use of any tools. However, such procedure may be difficult and awkward as a normal procedure is to depress the recoil spring plug and at the same time rotate the barrel bushing by approximately ¼ turn. After barrel bushing has been rotated, the barrel bushing and the recoil spring plug/guide rod plug can be removed. The too less procedure may be difficult because of the necessity to depress the recoil spring plug as it is under spring pressure and rotate the barrel at the same time. The recoil spring plug/guide rod plug can slip off the thumb launch the plug as a projectile—injuring the person, other persons nearby or causing damage to nearby objects. Therefore, a tool is recommended to assist the user when rotation of the barrel bushing and removing the spring plug. The tool, called a “barrel bushing wrench,” is a wrench having an aperture generally in the shape of the barrel bushing that is fitted on the barrel bushing and turned to rotate the barrel bushing. However, there is still no provision to secure the recoil spring plug/guide rod plug on these tools.
The prior art discloses several other types of tools for this purpose. U.S. Design Pat. No. 407958 shows a lockout, safety and bushing removal tool for an automatic handgun.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,901,411 discloses a tool for rotating a barrel bushing or spring plug in a 45 caliber pistol. The tool has a flange to prevent the uncontrolled ejection of the plug and spring. The tool includes a recess for partially receiving the ejected plug. Studs are positioned to control the amount and/or direction of rotation of the bushing or plug.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,174,667 B2 also discloses a tool for rotating a barrel bushing or spring plug on a 1911 45 caliber pistol. A tool to facilitate the removal of a barrel bushing on a handgun such as the 1911 automatic pistol. The tool has a handle which fold-able receives a wrench having an aperture conforming to the shape of bushing. In the extended position, the wrench is provided with ridges or serrations to friction-ally engage the fingers or hands of the user.
While tools, as described above, are suitable for the intended purpose, they generally are single purpose tools not having the capability to disassemble other parts of the pistol, nor do they have a provision for the secure reassembly of the spring recoil plug/guide rod plug—barrel bushing assembly.
Accordingly, there exists a need for a multi-tool which can which can disassemble and reassemble a 1911 pistol safely and easily for the end user.
The invention disclosed here positively retrieves the recoil spring plug at the precise time the barrel bushing loses contact with and releases the recoil spring plug/guide rod plug.